The Beginning of the Marauders
by xXxSarah-SimmsxXx
Summary: Part 2 of my Isabella Lupin story! Izzy and the Marauders are back at Hogwarts for their second year. Will everything be okay between Izzy and James? And what about Lily Evans? James/OC
1. Back to School

"Gid, just leave it behind!" I laughed as we ran through the halls of Hogwarts.

"My shoe though!" he laughed just as hard as he turned back the other way to collect the shoe that had fallen off. I swapped an amused look with Fabian as we skid to a halt to wait for him only my eyes widened at the sight of Apollyon Pringle the caretaker who had turned the corner at a run.

"Caught you all in the act!" he snapped at us angrily as he gained on us, "Dungbombs in the Charm corridor! That's detention that is!"

Gideon, who was knelt in front of him to get his shoe suddenly stood up and ran towards us, we grinned before following him in the opposite direction that Pringle was coming from. We finally skid to a halt when we were by the trophy room which was on the opposite side of the castle compared to the Charms corridor.

"That was great," I laughed as I leant against a wall to catch my breath.

"Yeah, but Pringle knows it was us," Fabian commented. "He's gonna tell McGonagall."

"With no proof?" I smirked as we started to walk towards the Great Hall, we entered at the same time as my brother and his friends. Remus and Sirius smiling slightly at us as James scowled, I returned his scowl with one of my own before moving to sit with the twins as Frank joined us.

"Where've you guys been?" he asked as he slid into a seat next to me, the twins were opposite us.

Gideon glanced around us before leaning in, "We were putting Dungbombs in the Charms corridor," he grinned.

"Aha!" A voice from behind me suddenly shouted making me jump and turn to see that Pringle was approaching with McGonagall, "A confession! You all heard it!" I swapped a look with the twins before we all shrugged.

"Sure," I nodded, "We did it."

"You should give them detention Professor," he turned to McGonagall, "Ban them from Quidditch for the season!"

"Why would I ban half of my team from Quidditch?" she questioned making us swap smirks, "Especially the three best players we have?" She turned to us, "You will be serving detention tonight with Hagrid."

"Yes Professor," we replied together making her nod before walking back to the teacher's table. I grinned widely again and bumped fists with the twins, completely ignoring the glare I was receiving from both the Slytherin table and James Potter.

"Wait, aren't you going to see your gran tonight?" Frank asked knowingly as we got up to go to lessons, I paused and ran a hand through my hair. Frank had figured something out a while ago, he had asked if Remus was a werewolf, but I had lied and told him I was.

"I'll talk to McGonagall," I replied simply before turning on my heel and heading up to said teacher.

"What is it Miss Lupin?" she asked curiously.

"Would it be possible to reschedule the detention?" I asked hopefully, "I know you don't usually do that," I lowered my voice, "Frank figured out why Remus and I left once a month, and I told him it was me who was a werewolf, not Remus."

"Ah," she nodded, "You can serve your detention on Sunday."

"Thanks Professor," I smiled at her before heading back to my waiting friends, only Remus intercepted me.

"You got detention, tonight?" he snapped angrily.

"I talked my way out of it," I snapped back, "I'll be there, I always will be." He sighed in relief before he pulled me into a hug.

I was however, shocked when I reached the shrieking shack to find not only Remus, but a dog, a stag and a rat. Already in my wolf form, I growled threateningly and crouched to attack, the stag cast me a glance before turning away as the dog mimicked my stance.

"Bell," Remus croaked, having not changed yet, "its okay it's the guys."

The dog stood up straight before plodding over to me, his tail wagging, the rat joined him and scuttled up my leg to rest on my head as the dog licked my cheek. Sirius and Peter, obviously, meaning James was the stag.

Rolling my wolf eyes, I growled towards James before sitting down and waiting for Remus to transform.

Things hadn't gotten any better with James over the summer, we just went from bad to worse, and I blame him completely.

"_Happy Birthday Baby Girl," Gideon smiled down at me as we danced at my birthday party, "You look, beautiful tonight."_

_I blushed slightly as I looked down at my black birthday dress before smiling up at him again, "Thanks Gid," I muttered quietly before he pulled me closer and I let my head drop onto his shoulder._

"_Aww, look how cute they look together," I could hear Mrs Prewitt comment from close by._

"_Yeah, whatever," was the reply she received from the voice of James Potter making me tense slightly before closing my eyes. Once the song ended, I pulled away from Gideon with a kiss on the cheek before making my way out into our backyard for some fresh air._

"_You and Prewitt looked close," I heard him comment from right behind me as I leant against the rail of our patio deck. Turning my head, I rolled my eyes at him and looked away again. "Are you guys like a thing now?"_

"_No," I shook my head._

"_Good, he's too old for you," he told me sharply making me turn to fully face him._

"_What's your problem?" I asked him sadly, "So I didn't tell you about Remus, who cares?"_

"_I care," he replied, "You promised you'd tell me if something was wrong."_

"_But nothing was wrong," I snapped at him, squaring off slightly as I lowered my voice, "He's my brother, and I love him. Whether he's a Werewolf or not."_

_I didn't realise how close our faces where until he swooped in and his lips collided hard with mine, his hand going to the back of my head and tangling in my hair. I kissed back... my fist holding on to his shirt... until I realised what was happening and I shoved him away from me. "What the hell?" I shouted angrily, catching the attention of people by the doors._

_They just so happened to be Remus, Sirius and Peter. "You haven't talked to me civilly since Valentine's Day and now you're kissing me?" I snapped harshly, "Make your fucking mind up Potter."_

_With that I walked away from him and back into the party where I was intercepted by Fabian, Gideon and Frank. This of course caused James to glare angrily towards the four of us as I sent a glare over my shoulder._

"So how long have you guys been Animagi?" I asked as James and Sirius supported Remus up to the castle the morning after the full moon.

"We learnt a few weeks back," Sirius replied as James wouldn't even look at me, "We figured, if we came with you guys, it might be more fun for us all."

Shrugging slightly, I smiled. I had to admit, with them being there too, it was quite fun. Especially since Sirius' dog form was the same size as my wolf one so we were evenly matched as we play fought. He glanced down at me with a questioning look. "It was fun," I nodded with a smile, before the smile dropped at the sound of James' scoff.

We'd reached the great hall already so I ignored him and accepted Remus as they handed him over to me before we walked away from them without a word. We'd all realised that they couldn't help Remus all the way to the Hospital wing because if they did then Pomfrey would get suspicious.

"Ah, Bella and Remus," she greeted pleasantly, "Back to our old routine already."

"Hey Poppy," we greeted together, having been in the hospital wing so much the year before she had opted for us to be on first name terms.

"Well, in bed you get Remus," she told him kindly making me lower him to his usual bed, "Now, sleep until lunch like usual and off you go Bella."

"See you later Remy, Poppy," I waved as I exited the hospital wing before heading up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

"Bella!" I heard Bilius shout as I headed inside the Common Room making me spin to face the chairs by the fire where he sat with Gideon, Fabian and Frank. "C'mere a sec."

"What's up?" I asked as I dropped into a seat between the twins.

"Well, Arthur and Emmeline finished last year," he replied, "So we're down two Chasers." I nodded slightly. "So here's what I was thinking: You said something about you wanting to be a Chaser?"

"I'm good with Seeker Bill," I replied making him sigh in relief.

"Great," he smirked, "Because we figured Fabian and Gideon could be our Chasers. They're awesome at it, better than Frank anyway."

"Hey!" he whined unhappily making me smirk slightly.

"So what about Beaters?" I asked curiously.

"We're gonna hold try outs," was Fabian's reply, "But we wanted to ask if you had any thoughts on who'd be good Beaters?"

"Yeah, what about Remus... you said he used to play with you and your dad," Gideon suggested.

"He's not a Beater," I shook my head, "He's a Keeper if I ever saw it. But he'll have to wait until next year." Biting my lip I glanced over at Sirius, James and Peter were sat making me wince. "I'm going to regret this aren't I?"

Gideon grimaced for me as I ran a hand through my hair, "When are you holding try outs?" I asked Bilius.

"Tonight," he replied simply making push myself off the sofa and head over to the three confused boys.

"What do you want?" James sneered up at me making me glower back before looking right at Sirius.

"You play Beater, right?" I asked simply making him nod.

"James does too," he told me, knowing that was my question.

"Try outs for our two Beaters are tonight, six o'clock," I told him, "Will you come?" He smirked and nodded.

"Definitely," he told me as he stood up, "Thanks for letting us know Bells."

I shrugged slightly and tilted my head to look at him properly, "I'm not saying you'll make the team," I smirked, "But... if you're good enough, maybe I'll convince Bill to let you join us."

He chuckled slightly before shoving me slightly, "See you later Sirius, Peter, Potter," I smiled at the first to before scowling at the third and heading up to my dorm to change for the day.


	2. Friendship Renewed

"How was detention last night?" I smirked at Gideon as we headed to the Great Hall for lunch a little later on. Fabian and Frank had already headed down with Bilius.

"It was detention," he smirked down at me, "How's your gran?"

"Same as always," I sighed as I tucked my hair behind my ear.

"You've never actually told me what's wrong with her," he told me cautiously making me scuff the toe of my shoe against the floor. "Not to mention the fact that she looked pretty okay to me at your birthday."

_**Think, think, think.**_ "My gran is bi-polar," I turned to him with an angry look in place on my face. "Happy now?" he looked away, "When she takes her potions she's fine, but she doesn't like taking them and she goes on downward spirals."

"Bells..." he started but I quickly walked away from him, wincing inwardly at my blatant lie, I had to catch up to Remus to let him know what our lie was now.

"What's up?" Remus asked as I slid into a seat next to him.

"Gran's bi-polar," I told him simply making all four of them cast me confused looks. "Gideon asked what was wrong with her every month and he was getting suspicious about why she was okay at my birthday so I told him she was bi-polar."

"Okay," he nodded before looking at the guys who nodded to, they'd keep the story too.

"But now he thinks I'm angry at him for asking," I sighed, "I needed a way of getting away from him to talk to you." Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him having a whisper argument with Fabian and I winced. "That's my fault."

"Bella!" Frank shouted making me jump, he nodded me to follow him and I got up, casting Remus a sad look as I did. "Why are you still lying to them? There's nothing wrong with your gran and you know it!"

I glared harshly at him, not hearing footsteps approaching behind me, "Well I'm sorry if I don't want to advertise that I turn into a wolf every full moon," I growled at him dangerously.

"You what?" I froze at the sound of Gideon's voice before I turned slowly to see him and Fabian who were pale, Remus and the guys were stood behind them with sorrowful looks on their faces. "You're a werewolf?"

I looked at the floor as to not meet Remus' eyes, I'd rather they hate me for being one than hate Remus. They obviously took my silence as a yes and Fabian was suddenly in front of me his hand on my cheek. "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked sadly as I looked up at him.

I hadn't officially lied to them, just told them I turned into a wolf every full moon... they didn't know it was by choice. "We wouldn't have thought any different of you," Gideon confirmed as he put a hand on my shoulder making me glance up and lock eyes with Remus who nodded slightly and walked forwards.

"We all need to talk," he told the three older boys before we headed into an empty classroom. Frank charmed the door with Muffliato before turning to us all. I sat myself on one of the desks and looked at the floor.

"So what needs to be said?" Fabian asked curiously.

"I..." I sighed before looking at Remus.

"Just tell them," he said tiredly making me gulp slightly.

"I'm not the Werewolf," I let out forcefully making the guys turn to me, James sighed at my sad look before he moved over and sat next to me, draping his arm around my shoulders.

"But you just said..." Gideon started.

"She was protecting me," Remus interrupted him, "I'm the Werewolf, Bella's an Animagus and she does technically turn into a wolf every full moon, so she didn't lie to you."

I bit at my lip as my three older friends dropped into a silence... _**they hate me, I lied to them.**_ Tears stung my eyes as I waited for their reaction. Finally though, Frank came and stood in front of me.

"You blatantly told me Remus wasn't a Werewolf and you were," he said in a tense calm as I kept my gaze on the floor as tears broke the surface and tracked down my cheeks, "Why did you lie to me?"

"Because I..." I started, my voice cracking slightly. I took a breath and looked up at the boys who were watching me, "I know how some people react when they find out someone's a Werewolf. I'd rather people hate me than hate Remus."

"So you'd rather we stopped being your friend... then hate someone we've barely even talked to?" Frank asked slowly, as if trying to understand my logic.

"He's not just someone you've never talked to," I snapped at him, "He's my brother and I love him." Remus glanced over at me as I lowered my voice, "I'd do anything for him."

He gave me a sad smile as I looked up to him, before he tilted his head as a silent indication making me push myself off the table and walk in to his waiting arms, my face burrowing into his collar as I clung to his shirt. "I love you too Bell," he muttered into my hair making me smile slightly.

"Bella, Remus..." Gideon started making me turn to them, "We won't tell anyone, we promise." I smiled slightly to him and leant against Remus. "We'll even help cover for you guys on a full moon."

"Thanks," Remus nodded honestly

"What are friends for," Fabian grinned, making us all laugh slightly... only, Frank stayed quiet making us all turn to him.

"Don't worry, I won't tell," he sighed quietly, "But I won't cover for you either... you still lied to me."

"Frank..." I started as I stepped closer; he just shook his head and walked out of the classroom leaving me in shock as another tear fell down my cheek.

"We'll talk to him," Gideon told me, pressing a kiss to my forehead before him and Fabian left too.

"You guys mind if I stay with you for the day?" I asked sadly as I turned to face them, three of them turned to James who looked at the floor.

"Give us a minute," he told them and the three left, letting me turn to face him again. "Izzy..."

I bit my lip and walked up to him, nervously. He looked just as nervous as I did until I wrapped my arms around his waist and ducked my face into his chest. He sighed slightly before he wrapped his arms tight around me and burrowed his face in to my hair. "I missed you," I muttered as to not start crying ain.

"I missed you too," he muttered back in the same tone, holding me so close that it felt like he never wanted to let me go again. "I missed you too."

"We good?" Sirius' head popped around the door, grin evident on his face as he looked at us. "She can have her nickname now?"

"Nickname?" I asked curiously making the two boys grin at me before James led me out of the room, arm still draped over my shoulders.

"So Remus is Moony for obvious reasons," James explained as we sat in the Kitchens, considering we'd missed Lunch. "Peter's Wormtail because he's a rat. Sirius is Padfoot because he's a dog and I'm Prongs because I'm a stag."

"And me?" I asked curiously.

"Well we were thinking Luna at first, cause you're Moony's sister," Sirius started, "But then we realised, even when you're in your human form, your Fangs are bigger than usual so we're gonna call you Fang."

"Nice," I nodded, "I like it." The four boys swapped pleased looks before finishing their food. "I think we should go down the lake before the weather gets too bad."

"Sounds good," James nodded, with a smile... it felt nice now that we were friends again.

"Great, let's go," I grinned before grabbing his hand and pulling him along with me.

"Okay so listen up!" Bilius announced to the people who had come to try out for the team. Me, Fabian, Gideon and Frank were stood off to one side. "Try outs are for Beaters, so if you're here to try out for any other position, you may as well just leave, I'm not breaking my winning team up."

A few sullen people left unhappily, and I grinned slightly before hoping up next to Bilius, "These try outs are only for Gryffindors so if you're not a Gryffindor, leave." My eyes landed on a few giggling Hufflepuffs who ran off quickly.

"Nice eye," Bilius commented as I stayed next to him, "Take it you've named yourself my co-captain?" I nodded brightly before glancing at the other people who were waiting. There were four more people with Sirius and James making me purse my lips, I wanted to make it as easy as possible for them to get on the team.

"So, suggestions for how they try out?" he looked down at me before glancing at the other three.

"Flying baseball," I replied simply as I grabbed my broom, mum had bought me one for my birthday.

I grabbed a Muggle baseball and bat before flying to the middle of the Quidditch Pitch. "Okay then," Bilius smirked before turning to the maybes. "First up... Paul Cauldwell."

A burley sixth year hopped on to his broom and flew up to me, I tossed him the bat. "So here's how this works. I'm gonna throw baseballs at you and you're gonna try hit them through the middle hoop." He raised an eyebrow at me, "Two people with the best accuracy get the spots, simple as."

Paul got eight out of ten, the next guy, Mark, got five. Liam got nine, which we all agreed was impressive. Gregory got eight and then it was Sirius' go, I smirked at him and faced off with him. "Don't expect me to go easy on you, Padfoot." I told him simply.

"Wouldn't expect anything less, Fang," he winked at me before I launched the first ball at him... Sirius Black scored ten out of ten and whooped before high fiving the rest of the team.

"Welcome to the team, Black," Bilius told him making me grin at him, "Up you go Potter."

He took off and faced me, I mimicked a kiss at him before winking and tossing the first ball... he reacted purely on instinct and the ball soared through the middle hoop... followed by the next nine. "Nice one Prongs," I smirked as we flew back down.

"Looks like we've got our team," Bilius smirked, "We're gonna be undefeated."

We all cheered at this and headed in to dinner where Remus and Peter congratulated the guys as we sat opposite them. Me between the two of them, "It's good to have you back with us properly, Fang." Peter commented as we ate in companionable silence.

"It's good to be back, Wormtail," I told him kindly before screwing my face up as James and Sirius both planted kisses to my cheeks.


	3. The Marauders and The Bash Brothers

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Fang and Prongs... also known as The Marauders, well... at least that's what we came to be known as throughout the school. Thanks to me, we spent most of our free time pranking people and causing trouble.

In Quidditch, James and Sirius soon became known as the Bash Brothers due to how well they worked together as Beaters. They were lethal... And to my joy, the Marauder's actually learnt to get along pretty well with the Prewitt twins and even Bilius too. So if we weren't causing trouble, just the five of us, you'd find all eight of us together instead.

I was actually sad to notice that Fabian and Gideon barely talked to Frank anymore, but what upset me about it was the fact that Frank had only ever been friend with the three of us. Now that he didn't have us, he didn't have anyone.

It was now mid October and the second Quidditch match of the season was approaching quickly. Gryffindor Vs Slytherin. I was glad that up until recently I hadn't had any run ins with the Slytherins, but as soon as it was announced that we were the next match, the taunts and arguments began.

"So I think you should have someone with you at all times, Bella, just in case," Bilius announced, late one night as we all sat in the Common Room, it was empty except for us.

"Getting paranoid in your old age Billy?" I smirked over at him as I leant my back against James' chest, my legs draped across Sirius' legs.

"We don't want our amazingly beautiful Seeker to get attacked by some idiot Slytherins," Gideon replied for me, "Just make sure you're always with one of us."

Rolling my eyes slightly I scowled at them, "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself," I grumbled irritably.

"We know you are Izzy," James sighed as he wrapped his arms around me, "But we just want to make sure they don't jump you or something." I glanced up at him, "We haven't got a reserve Seeker." With that, I elbowed him in the stomach making him groan slightly as I grinned.

"You're our Baby Girl," Fabian started making me look at him, "We just want to make sure you're safe."

"Fine," I sighed as I closed my eyes and cuddled closer to James, "But I still think you're all paranoid."

They weren't paranoid, I was running late the next day when I was intercepted by the Slytherin Quidditch team. The group consisting of Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, Alecto Carrow, Evan Rosier and Charis Yaxley, snuck up on me as I was heading down to the greenhouses for Herbology.

"Hey Orphan girl!" I heard Bellatrix shout from pretty close behind me as I walked quickly down the hill. Pausing slightly, I turned my head to see her with the guys. "Not so confident when I can use magic... and there're no witnesses."

Rolling my eyes slightly, I turned fully and dropped my bag... the Slytherins 'ooh'ed mockingly as Bellatrix moved closer. We weren't very far from the greenhouses, so I knew if I had to, I could either run and get there first or just scream and be heard.

"What do you want, Black?" I asked apathetically.

"You made a fool of me in front of all those people on the platform, last Christmas," she growled, I'm guessing it was supposed to be menacingly.

"And your point is...? It was like a year ago." I asked slowly as I raised an eyebrow at her, she growled again making me smirk.

Her wand was suddenly at my throat and I couldn't help but chuckle in amusement, "You think I won't do it Lupin?" she threatened.

"Oh on the contrary, I know you'll do it," I smirked up at her, "Whether it's going to have any effect on me is something completely different."

She growled before stepping away and slashing her wand, "Reducto!" she screamed loudly and I felt the force of the spell. It knocked me off my feet, but I just pushed myself up and wiped off the dirt as people rushed out of the greenhouses after hearing the spell.

Arching an eyebrow at the looks of utter shock on their faces, I smirked. "My turn?" I asked innocently, they gulped as I pulled my wand out. "Levicorpus!"

Instantaneously, all seven of the Slytherins were suddenly hanging upside down by their ankles. Bellatrix started screaming profanities at me because of this but I sighed, "Langlock!" Her tongue was suddenly glued to the roof of her mouth.

"Now listen up, and listen well," I smirked as I walked up to where she was dangling. My eyes were level with hers, "Your spells won't work on me and you're threats have no effect, so stop wasting both of our times." I backed away and turned to the watching crowd... Professor Sprout was watching curiously. "Liberacorpus."

I didn't bother to turn to look at them as I heard the seven Slytherins crumple to the floor. I just headed into the greenhouse, winking at the other Marauders as I passed them.

"Where the hell did you learn how to do that?" James asked as we headed up to the castle for our next lesson. "It was AWESOME!"

"Thanks," I laughed, "Fabian taught me the ankle thing and Gideon taught me the tongue tie."

"Can you teach us?" Sirius asked happily.

"Course," I laughed again, "I have others too." Severus Snape was walking in front of us so I pulled my wand out, "Watch this... Avis – Oppugno!"

With the two spells, a flock of canaries were conjured and they flew like darts towards Snape who let out a girlish scream before running away... the birds following. "Moony, your sister's like an evil

version of you!" Sirius smirked at my brother making me blush slightly.

"You are like, genius level evil," Peter commented in awe making me glance sideways at him, he was the only one of the guys that was still smaller than me. "I'm glad I'm your friend, and not the enemy."

"C'mon," Remus sighed interrupting out conversation, "We're gonna be late for Defence."

"Ack, Hufflepuff," I grumbled as we headed up the main staircase, "If Lockhart hits on me again, I'll hurt him."

The words were barely out of my mouth when I heard the annoying sound of the girly blond boy's voice. "And I killed it with the gold chain I'd been wearing," I heard him say arrogantly as we turned the corner. He was stood with a group of giggling Hufflepuff girls and even some of the Gryffindors were going gaga over him.

"Needless to say the next werewolf that comes in contact with me will think again before attacking." He grinned proudly making me grin at Remus before heading over, Lockhart caught sight of me and turned from his admirers. "Come to congratulate me on my victory over a monster?"

"I've come to tell you that gold has no effect on a werewolf," I corrected, the guys chuckled... and I was surprised to see Lily Evans smirking. "So next time you make up stories to make yourself look good, you might want to research to make sure your information is right."

His smile faltered as I turned away from him and moved to stand with Evans who gave me a shocked look. "Will you go out with me?" Lockhart suddenly asked making me turn to glare at him.

"It's not going to happen," I replied simply before looking away from him, "Didn't know you had a sense of humour Evans." She was sniggering quietly.

"Yeah well, you've never actually bothered to find out," she countered making me nod.

"Touche," I laughed, "How's about we start over?" She raised an eyebrow before looking at the other Marauders, "Hang out with me, not them... Lily?"

"You called me Lily," she looked curious.

"Friends call each other by their first names," I shrugged before holding my hand out to shake hers... after a moment's hesitation, she accepted it.

"Okay Bella, friends." She nodded in acceptance before I grinned happily.


	4. This is Halloween

**I don't actually like this chapter but it's more of a filler than anything important... shows more of James and Izzy's relationship though x**

"So the quire wanted to know if you'd help us out on Halloween," Lily asked as we walked off the pitch after the Gryffindor V Slytherin match. We'd become quick friends since that Defence lesson. "Remus told me that you've got a really good voice."

"I don't know Lils," I sighed as I looked sideways at her, "I'm not really a performer."

"You're the Gryffindor Seeker, and you're the only girl Marauder," she challenged, "You can't say you're not a performer." I looked at my shoes, "Just this once, if you don't like it I won't ask again."

"Fine," I sighed looking up again, "But I choose the song... none of the double, double toil and trouble crap."

"What do you suggest then?" she asked curiously making me smirk at her.

So here we were, me, Lily and the others in the quire, waiting for our music to start up so we could start the song that I'd taught them.

_**Bold – Just Izzy and Lily. Normal Italic – the others in the quire**_

_**Boys and girls of every age**_

_**Wouldn't you like to see something strange?**_

_**Come with us and you will see**_

_**This, our town of Halloween**_

_(This is Halloween, this is Halloween)_

_**Pumpkins scream in the dead of night.**_

_(This is Halloween, everybody make____a scene)_

_**Trick or treat till the neighbours gonna die of fright**_

_(In our town, everybody scream_

_In this town of Halloween)_

_**I am the one hiding under your bed**_

_**Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red**_

_**I am the one hiding under your stairs**_

_**Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair**_

_(This is Halloween, this is Halloween_

_Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!)_

_**In this town we call home**_

_**Everybody hail to the pumpkin song**_

_**In this town, don't we love it now?**_

_**Everybody's waiting for the next surprise**_

_(Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can_

_Something's waiting now to pounce) _

_**And how you'll scream.**_

_(Scream! This is Halloween)_

_**Red 'n' black, slimy green**_

_**Arent you scared?**_

_**Well, that's just fine**_

_(Say it once, say it twice_

_Take the chance and roll the dice) _

_**Ride with the moon in the dead of night.**_

_**Everybody **__(scream),__** Everybody **__(scream)_

_(In our town of Halloween)_

_**I am the Clown with the tear away face**_

_**Here in a flash and gone without a trace.**_

_**I am the 'who' when you call, 'who's there?'**_

_**I am the wind blowing through your hair.**_

_**I am the shadow on the moon at night**_

_**Filling your dreams to the brim with fright.**_

_(This is Halloween, This is Halloween_

_Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!_

_Halloween! Halloween!)_

_**Tender lumping everywhere**_

_**Life's no fun without a good scare**_

_**That's our job, but we're not mean**_

_**In our town of Halloween**_

_(In this town)_

_**Don't we love it now?**_

_**Everyone's waiting for the next surprise**_

_(Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back_

_And scream like a banshee_

_Make you jump out of your skin)_

_**This is Halloween, everyone scream**_

_**Won't ya please make way for a very special guy**_

_**Our man Jack is king of the pumpkin patch**_

_**Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now**_

_(This is Halloween, this is Halloween_

_Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween)_

_**In this town we call home**_

_**Everyone hail to the pumpkin song**_

_(La la la, la la, la la la, la la, la la la, la la, la la la, la whoo!)_

With the last whoo! Bats erupted from the ceiling and flooded down on to the students watching from the House tables. Some of them let out screams and I laughed in amusement before high fiving Lily when the cheers started.

"Nice choice in song," she muttered to me.

"I've got one ready for Christmas too," I smirked at her making her eyes light up.

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Really," I confirmed and she grinned happily before pulling me into a tight hug.

"You were awesome," Fabian and Gideon announced as we sat down by them, Lily actually liking the twins.

"Why didn't you tell us you could sing?" Gideon asked sadly.

"You didn't ask," I grinned amusedly before winking and turning back to Dumbledore's annual Halloween speech... only something landed on my head making me grab for it. "Hey there..."

One of the hundreds of bats that were flying around the great hall had decided it wanted to land on me. I let it hang from my hand as I brought it in front of my face, "What's your name?" it obviously didn't answer making me tilt my head slightly and look at it... it had a strange mark across one of its eyes. "Imma name you Scar."

"Izzy's got herself a new friend," James smirked as he and the guys moved to sit by us, "You did good," I smiled shyly at him and he nodded to Lily, "Both of you."

"Thanks..." she replied tentatively making me give her thankful smile for trying... but surprising us both, James didn't try to talk to her after that, he draped his arm around my shoulders and held some chocolate in front of my face making me giggle and accept it.

"Bill says that we have a practice in the morning," he told me quietly as the others discussed something along the lines off the best chocolate.

"But I'm planning on being on a sugar high tonight," I pouted slightly.

"And having a sugar hangover tomorrow?" he smirked down at me making me nod and grin slightly. "You're a really odd person."

"But you love me for it," I smiled teasingly, he smiled back slightly before nodding.

"Yeah, I do." He replied simply, his eyes locked on mine. A small blush flushed my cheeks as he leant closer to me but Remus was suddenly talking to me.

"Bella, tell them that Chocoballs are better than Chocolate Frogs," he whined at me making me turn away from James and grin at my brother.

"Is there something you're not telling us Remy?" I asked teasingly making James, Sirius, Fabian and Gideon laugh loudly as Lily giggled slightly. Remus just blushed a bright red.

"Uncalled for," he commented as my grin widened.

"Hey Lily!" someone suddenly said from behind us making us all turn to see one of Lily's usual friends, "You'll never guess who's just asked me out."

Almost instantaneously we turned to Sirius who put his hands up in defence, "Wasn't me," he told us simply making us all turn to the girl again.

"Gilderoy Lockhart!" she squealed making me grimace and wince slightly. "Isn't he just dreamy?"

I couldn't help it, I turned and buried my face in James' chest as I burst out laughing making him laugh too. "What's so funny?" Lily's friend pouted at us.

"Aww honey," I pulled away and wiped my eyes, "Gilderoy Lockhart? Seriously?"

"Yeah, he's so brave and charming and..." she stopped talking when I started laughing again. "He told me I was the only girl for him and he loves me."

I held in the next wave of laughter, "When're you going out with him?" I asked.

"Tonight, seven o'clock," she replied.

"I'm doing this for your own good," I told her before getting up and pulling her with me. "Hey Gilderoy."

He looked up with wide eyed excitement as I took a seat next to him, "I wanted to take you up on that date," I told him coyly making him grin widely, "You free tonight? Say... seven?"

"Absolutely!" he replied brightly and I heard the girl behind me gasp in hurt.

"Too bad, I'm not," I smirked before turning away from him to look at the girl she smiled sadly at me and I draped an arm around her shoulder before leading her back to Lily and the guys. "I told you."

"Thanks," she sighed, "I mean... I thought he really liked me."

"Trust me," I smirked, "I know the kind of guy that can actually like someone. If someone asks you out again, come talk to me and Lily and we'll tell you if they're worth your time."

"Thanks Isabella," she smiled as we sat down.

"It's Bella," I corrected, "You're Alice, right?"

"Alice Lloyd, yeah," she nodded with a small smile.

"Welcome to the group Alice," Fabian grinned at her happily and she smiled brightly at them all.

"We're gonna need a new name soon," Sirius muttered, "I mean, we can't be The Marauders and friends can we?"

"We'll think of something," I shrugged.


	5. The Truth Comes Out

"Why...?" I groaned as we all made our way to the Quidditch Pitch early the next day, "No one else is even alive right now."

"If we want a head start on the competition we need to train hard and early," Bilius replied simply as he turned to face me. I pouted slightly up at him before hearing James chuckle making me whine slightly and throw my head back.

"Tired baby girl?" Fabian asked teasingly making me glare immaturely at him before turning away from him and sighing at a smirking Sirius.

"C'mere," he muttered with a chuckle before wrapping his arm around my shoulder, my head instinctively dropped to his shoulder and I moved so I was leaning closer to him.

"Thanks Siri," I muttered to him as I let my eyes droop closed, he guided me, half asleep to the Quidditch Pitch.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Gideon suddenly asked making my eyes snap open. I followed his gaze towards the Slytherin stands where their whole Quidditch team was sat waiting to watch our practice.

"I am so not awake enough to deal with them right now," I grumbled sadly as Sirius rested his chin on the top of my head. "But I think I can get rid if you need me to."

Bilius gave me a once over before he nodded making me pull away from Sirius and pull my wand out. "Cultivate abeo tergum!" I muttered before waving my wand in the direction of the Slytherins.

It was an immediate effect, the whole team suddenly had bright blue skin and bright pink hair. Bellatrix's scream was hilarious to hear and the Slytherins tore from the stands and ran up to the castle. "Nice," James smirked happily.

"I'm glad I finally got to use it, I've been working on that for weeks," I laughed slightly.

"Let's get to work," Bilius nodded for us to get on our brooms, I pouted pathetically at him making him simply shake his head, unaffected like the other four were. Frank simply glared at the back of my head.

It wasn't long into the practice that I heard the tell tale sound of whooshing air heading straight towards me. I turned my head just in time to see the Bludger that collided hard with my shoulder, sending me flying off my broom as a searing pain shot up my arm.

"Izzy!" I heard James' shout, but it sounded far away as the air rushed by me, the ground approaching fast. The last thing I remembered was a glint of the sun hitting something metal, my mind just told me it was the snitch.

_I was walking through what looked like a manor house, only it wasn't any manor house I'd been in before. I could hear talking, a man and a woman... following the voices I entered what seemed to be the drawing room and my gaze landed on... well, me._

_The woman that looked exactly like me was crying, sobbing, and the man's expression also seemed pained. "Castiel she's our daughter," the woman practically begged, my eyes landed on a six year old me sat curled inwards to herself in the corner._

"_And that's what makes her more at risk," the man, Castiel replied, "Gwen, we need to send her somewhere where she will be looked after."_

"_They'll know who she is," Gwen whimpered, "The only way she can stay safe is if she stays with us... she'll remember everything!"_

"_She won't," Castiel replied, "I can make sure she has no memory of her first six years... she won't remember anything from before she wakes up."_

"_Castiel... please!" Gwen begged, "She's the heiress of Gryffindor, she can't just disappear."_

"_She's a Seraph, she has to just disappear," he told her calmly, "If Michael finds out she exist, he will smite us all."_

_Gwen broke into tears again, almost as if the realisation had hit her... she didn't watch as Castiel moved to the child and pulled her into his arms. "My Isabella," he muttered as he held her close, "I will miss you my daughter."_

_There was a flash of bright white light and the man and child were gone._

"Dad!" I gasped as I sat up quickly, my eyes snapping open. I was in one of the hospital wing beds it was dark, obviously after curfew. _**My Isabella.**_ The voice rang out clear in my head, as clear as someone whispering it in my ear making my head snap around the room.

"Oh, you're awake," a voice chimed from the other side of the room, where Poppy's chambers were. My head turned towards her and I smiled slightly with a nod. "You took a nasty hit by a Bludger, you dislocated your shoulder, the pain made you black out."

Frowning slightly, I thought back so that I could remember before I nodded slightly. "It's lucky Mr Potter caught you," she carried on, "Otherwise you'd be in a lot worse a shape."

"James caught me?" I asked, confused. _**A glint of what looked like the sun shining on metal...**_ "Oh, must've been his glasses."

"Well, let's have a look see," Poppy chimed again making me turn to her, she gave me a check up before nodding. "You can head off to your dorm now, I'm sure the boys will be worrying."

"Thanks Poppy," I smiled at her before climbing out of the bed and heading up to Gryffindor Tower.

_**She's a Seraph, she has to disappear.**_ My mind was racing off my dream, was it a memory? Had that really happened to me before Remus found me? If so, they must have been my parents... and that meant I was descended from Gryffindor himself... _**I know exactly what to do with you, with you being his descendent. **_The Sorting Hat had practically told me on my first day here.

"Password?" a voice interrupted my train of thought, letting me notice I was already at the Portrait Hole.

"Courage," I replied simply and the picture swung forwards letting me enter the Common Room.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" I heard Gideon ask.

"She'll be fine, this is Bella we're talking about," Sirius replied, "She took on the Slytherins and came out without a scratch."

"Okay, so which one of you two idiots hit me with a Bludger?" I smirked making all of them turn around, the Marauders, the twins, Bilius... hell even Lily and Frank where there.

"That'd be Sirius," Remus grinned as he got up, scooping me in his arms. "Thank Merlin you're alright."

"I'm fine," I smiled at him, "Had a weird dream, found out that I may or may not be heiress of Gryffindor, but I'm fine."

"The what of who?" James and Sirius were suddenly at my sides, the former glomping me in a hug.

"Exactly," I sighed before leaning my head on his shoulder, "Thanks for catching me." He didn't really reply to that, just pulled me closer and rested his chin on the top of my head.

"So, what did you mean by you may or may not be the heiress of Gryffindor?" Lily asked as we pulled away. He settled into the arm chair he had been in and he pulled me down to sit in his lap making me instinctively cuddle up to him.

"When I put the Sorting Hat on last year it told me it knew where to put me because I was their Descendent," I replied simply, "And when I was knocked out I had a weird dream... that might have been a memory of before Remy found me."

"What was it?" Remus asked curiously.

"There was a man and woman arguing, or something like that. Castiel and Gwen..." I replied, "I think they were my parents." I looked at my hands, "Castiel said I had to disappear because I was a Seraph and Gwen said I can't disappear because I was the heiress of Gryffindor."

"What's a Seraph?" Peter asked curiously, in unison we all turned towards; Lily, Remus or Frank making all three chuckle slightly.

"Lily?" Frank suggested with a grin.

"Sure," she grinned, "A Seraph is the child of a mortal and an angel, in this case Castiel (The angel) and Gwendolyn Gryffindor, the known descendent of Godric Gryffindor."

"Angel?" James raised an eyebrow, "Izzy's half angel?"

"Yeah," Frank nodded, "It makes sense Angels are immune to our magic and being half angel means that Bella won't be affected by magic in the same way as us." I bit ay lip agreeing with him silently. "Plus, we've all seen the way Dumbledore looks at her when they're in the same room."

"Cause he knows who I am," I added at the end, James' arm wrapped tighter around me in comfort.


	6. Meet Dorcas

Something shifted underneath me bringing me out of my slumber, groaning slightly I shifted and ducked my face into my pillow, only for it to wrap its arms around me more and pull me closer. A sigh of content left my lips as I burrowed closer. FLASH! My eyes snapped open and I spun around to see Remus and Sirius grinning down at me, the latter with a camera in hand.

"You guys look so cute together," Bilius grinned at me from the other side of the common room making me frown in confusion before turning to see James sat their wide eyed and confused. "We all fell asleep down here last night."

"What time is it?" James croaked tiredly as he sat up, his chest hitting against my back since I was still sat on his lap. His arms moved to wrap loosely around my waist.

"Six," Remus replied simply, "People will be getting up for class soon so we should head up and get ready."

Nodding tiredly I pulled out of James' arms and stood up, pulling him with me, "You're really comfy," I smirked at him before heading up the stairs to the girls dorms.

"You looked like you had a good sleep," Lily smirked when I entered the dorm making me blush slightly and pout at her. "You and James are good together."

"We're not together," I shrugged slightly, "He's into you, remember?"

"Didn't look like that last night," she commented as I passed her to go into the bathroom, "Someday you're gonna have to admit that he's in love with you and you're in love with him too."

"Love doesn't exist to twelve year olds," I shrugged and closed the door so I could get ready.

"C'mon Bella, you like him, right?" Lily persisted as we headed to the Common Room to meet up with the guys. I just sent her a pointed look to get her to shut up as we entered the room; they were all there already, waiting for us.

"Just admit it," she tried once more making all of them turn around to look at us.

"Admit what?" Gideon asked curiously making me glare slightly at Lily again before hitching my bag on to my shoulder.

"Admit that I'm hungry," I replied simply, "Let's go." They all gave me disbelieving looks before getting up from their seats and following me to the portrait hole. An arm slipped around my waist as we headed down the hall making me glance up and see it was James.

"You okay?" he asked quietly making me nod and smile up at him weakly before going back to my thoughts. I did like James, it was pretty obvious to anyone who saw us together, and I knew he liked me too. Only problem was we were twelve years old and relationships at that age don't really make sense considering we shouldn't actually know what relationships were.

I felt him pull me closer before he moved his arm to my shoulders instead of my waist, my arm moved to his waist so we were comfortable next to each other. "So what does Evans want you to admit?" he asked curiously.

"Forget it," I sighed slightly, knowing that the others were muttering about us as they walked up ahead.

"Remember when you told me you'd tell me everything...?" he teased making me pout slightly, he grinned in response. "She wants you to admit you like me."

"What are you...?" I started but he gave me a knowing look.

"Padfoot said the same thing to me just before you girls came into the Common Room," he told me simply.

"So, what now?" I asked as we paused by the doors of the Great Hall. He just shrugged and glanced towards the Gryffindor table where the others were settling down to breakfast.

"We like each other," he turned back to me, "but..."

"But we're twelve," I grinned knowingly, "Exactly what I've been thinking."

"How about we just see what happens?" he suggested, "If we still like each other in a year or two, then we'll go out."

"Sounds about right," I nodded in agreement, he held his hand out to me and I accepted it before we headed towards the others, settling down in the seats they'd left us between Sirius and Lily.

"Argh!" I heard the scream as I walked down the Defence corridor after class, Professor Jacobs had kept me behind to talk to me about my essay and the others had headed to Lunch already. Frowning slightly, I picked up the pace and headed around the corner to see what had happened.

A first year Hufflepuff girl was hanging by an ankle, trying her best to keep her skirt in place. "You okay up there?" I asked her, holding the amusement back and replacing it with concern.

"Can you get me down?" she squeaked slightly, her face turning red as the blood rushed to her face.

"Can you tell me who did this to you?" I questioned simply making her sigh. "Was it my friends?"

"No, surprisingly," she replied as she locked her eyes on me, "Can you get me down now?"

"Liberacorpus," I muttered as I waved my wand, she dropped quickly but I caught the top half of her so she landed feet first. "Who was it?"

"Some Slytherin," she replied as I walked her to the Great Hall, "Greasy hair, hook nosed."

"Snape," I grumbled. "What's your name hun?"

"Dorcas Meadows," she replied quietly.

"Where're your friends?" I asked her as we headed into the Hall. She glanced towards the Hufflepuff table where I spotted the other first years whispering to each other and glaring towards her. "Forget it, c'mon Cassie. You can sit with us."

"Are you sure?" she asked quietly making me nod and head towards where the guys were sat. Alice was sat chatting with Lily too.

"Hey Izzy," James smiled up at me as I walked towards them and slid into the seat next to him, Dorcas gave me another unsure look.

"This is Dorcas Meadows," I introduced, as I patted the seat next to me she sat down nervously. "She's a first year Hufflepuff and I had to help her out of a tight spot that she was left in."

"What happened?" Alice asked curiously making Dorcas blush.

"Some Slytherin hung me by my ankle and left me there," she replied quietly, she still seemed nervous, "Izzy called him Snape."

"Snape?" Remus looked up at me as I glared towards said Slytherin as he chatted with Lucius Malfoy.

"Severus wouldn't..." Lily started making me glance towards her.

"Describe him to them Cassie," I told her simply.

"He had greasy hair and a hook nose," she shrugged before following my gaze, "That guy, there."

"And you try to tell us he's not just another Slytherin," Alice commented to Lily. "He's picking on first years." Lily sighed sadly.

"So Cassie," Sirius turned to her making her blush slightly, "Where're your friends?"

"I uhm," she stumbled out before giving me a wide eyed look. "The other first years don't like me."

"Why not?" James asked as he leant forwards to look at her across me.

She brushed her hair out of her face, "My cousin Deda says it's because they're jealous of me or something," she replied, "But it's just 'cause I'm different. I don't like doing the things they do."

"What do you like doing?" Peter asked her simply.

"Well I hate doing homework and they sit together in the evenings doing theirs," she replied, "I'd rather be doing something fun, like exploring the castle or something. They just say that I cause trouble."

"Well Cassie, you'll fit right in with us," Fabian and Gideon grinned together.

"But I'll be on my own in the common room," she sighed.

"Alice'll look after you there," I informed her, nodding to said girl who nodded brightly, "She's Hufflepuff too."

"You don't have..." she started.

"It's no problem," Alice shrugged, "Su Li and Stephen will love you." I winked at the younger girl when she looked up at me making her smile brightly.


	7. Christmas Kisses

Christmas was approaching, fast, and none of us had decided what to do yet. Our parents had decided that they wanted us home, but we wanted to stay together. So the day before we had to decide we were all sat at the Gryffindor table discussing it.

"So Padfoot will come to mine again," James suggested and Sirius nodded.

"I'm going to the Prewitts," Frank told us and Fabian and Gideon nodded.

"Alice, Cassie and Lily can come to ours," I suggested to Remus who nodded.

"I was planning on staying at James' for most of it so it'll just be you girls in the night," he told me making me nod.

"So all that we need to figure out is Pete and Bilius," Gideon finished making us look at the guys.

"Mum wants me home; she didn't see me last year," Peter shrugged, "Sorry guys."

"One less," I sighed, "Bill?"

"It's Charlie's first Christmas," he replied, "But I can come over to yours for new years."

"Sounds good," I smiled at him making him grin. "I got mum and dad to agree to go to Grampa's for the night so we'll have the house to ourselves."

"Wow, I didn't think you'd manage it," Gideon grinned making me grin back.

"She's got them both wrapped around her little finger," Remus laughed simply.

"So, I'll write mum and tell her the girls will come to ours," I grinned before getting up.

"Tell her I'll be at James'," he called after me as I left the Great Hall.

"I will do!" I shouted back as I went through the doors.

_Dear Mum & Dad,_

_You said we should make arrangements for Christmas so you could see us at some point of the holidays. So here's what we've got. Remus will be staying at Potter Manor with James and Sirius. Frank will be with the Prewitts and Lily, Alice and Cassie will come to ours. Bilius and Pete have to go home for the Holidays but Bilius said he'll be at ours for New Years when everyone meets up there._

_I hope you're okay with this, but if you're not then we can just sort out another way. I hope you're glad to see that I have girl friends too now Mum, you'll love the three of them. Lily's Muggleborn so she can help us with the Muggle traditions of Christmas!_

_Love you both, see you soon._

_Isabella xoxo_

After sending the letter off with Scar, who was actually a lot faster at delivering letters than the Owls, I turned to head back to the Great Hall to meet the guys again but I collided hard with someone, making me land on the floor. "Walk much Bella?" a voice snapped irritably making me glare up at the familiar figure of Barty Crouch Jr, a Ravenclaw boy in my year.

"You were the one stood right behind me Bart," I countered as I stood up and dusted myself off, "What do you want?"

He shrugged slightly as he locked gazes with me Barty was unnerving; he always had been. "You're in my Transfiguration, right?" he asked simply, still staring at me as I started walking, he kept pace next to me.

"Yeah, why?" I asked glancing at him as I carried on walking.

"No reason," he shrugged again, "Benji just mentioned that you turned your bat into a goblet pretty easily."

"What's your point Bart?" I asked as I paused in the Entrance Hall, turning to face him. "You've never bothered to talk to me before, why now?"

"Just curious," he put his hands up in defence before tilting his head to the side and giving me that stare again, the one that made feel like he could read my mind. "You don't like me, do you?" he smirked slightly as he asked this.

"I don't know you," I corrected.

"Because you've never tried to," he countered, as my eyes fell on Lily, Alice and Cassie leaving the Great Hall. The boys weren't far behind them.

"You unnerve me," I replied simply as I looked at him again.

"I _unnerve_ you?" he asked in amusement, "What about me unnerves you Bella?"

"I don't know," I replied honestly, "Something."

"That's not an answer," he challenged, "There has to be a reason for me unnerving you."

"What's up?" Gideon walked up as he noticed us, the others stayed back watching. "What do you want Crouch?"

"We're just talking, right Bella?" he smirked at me as I gave him an apprehensive look. "See you later."

"Yeah," I muttered as I frowned in suspicion, he turned and walked into the Great Hall, taking a seat next to Benji Fenwick and Caradoc Dearborn.

"What was that about?" Gideon asked curiously as he draped his arm around my shoulders and guided me to the others.

"I honestly have no idea," I replied simply as I shook my head in confusion. A small shudder ran down my spine before I ran a hand through my hair. "Forget it."

"You send the letter?" Remus asked as we started up the stairs.

"Yeah," I nodded, another shudder caused me to pause in my steps and turn around. There was nothing there, and I knew there was nothing there... but my body had told me to turn around.

"What's wrong Bella?" Cassie asked cautiously as I scanned the hallway behind us.

"Nothing," I replied distractedly, "Let's go." With that I turned again and carried on up the stairs.

"You've been acting odd for weeks Bella," Lily accused as we curled up in front of the fire on Christmas Eve. My mum and dad were in the library as me and the girls sat by the fire in the drawing room, hot chocolate in hand and munchies in reach on the floor by us. "Ever since you had that run in with Barty."

"Lily's right Bell," Alice nodded, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," I replied as I brought my knees to my chest, my chin resting on them. "I keep getting that feeling that there's something behind me." As I said it, I felt that shudder again, only this time the girls shuddered too and the fire in the hearth flickered.

"That was creepy," Cassie squeaked as my head snapped around to the door that blew open with a bang.

"Shh," I hissed slightly as I strained my ears. I could hear mum and dad in the library, but I could also hear something else. "Can you...?"

A loud crash sounded from down the hall where the kitchen was, making me jump as the other girls yelped and screamed. "Stay here," I muttered as I got up and went to the door, mum and dad hadn't moved, they obviously hadn't heard through the oak doors of the library.

"You can't use magic," Lily hissed, "Get your dad."

"You go," I nodded for her and the girls to go to the library. "I can use this." I'd seen a Muggle movie on the TV during the summer so it had made me buy Beater bats; I left one by my bedroom door and one by the drawing room in the umbrella stand.

"Be careful," Alice whispered as she and Lily went up stairs, Cassie gripped the back of my pyjama top.

"Cass?" I asked curiously.

"I'm not letting you go on your own," she replied simply making me nod and take her hand in mine before starting forward quietly. CRASH! Sounded again making us both jump again, Cassie's grip tightened on my hand as we reached the kitchen door.

"Stay here," I muttered to her quietly as I let go of her hand, and with that I pushed the door open and tightened my grip on the bat. It was dark in the kitchen, and I could see six figures in the darkness. Swinging the bat, aiming at the legs of one of the intruders I heard a familiar voice let out a gasp of pain before the light was flipped.

Stood in front of me was Remus, James, Fabian, Gideon and Frank, Sirius was on the floor gripping his leg and glaring up at me. "What the hell was that for?" he yelled at me, as four sets of footsteps ran down the stairs. Loosening my grip on the bat I scowled at the boys.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I snapped harshly, making all six of them wince visibly.

"What's going on?" dad appeared at my shoulder, wand at the ready. "What are you boys doing here?"

"Well we came to scare the girls," Frank replied honestly, "Wasn't planning on Bella to be armed with a bat."

"Even if I wasn't armed with a bat I'd have injured one of you with my fists," I scowled, "You guys aren't supposed to be here till tomorrow night."

"Change of plans," James shrugged with a charming and innocent grin as he walked towards me, trying to take the bat from my hands. "Do you want to put the weapon down?"

"I think I'll keep hold of it for now," I replied just as innocently, but I had a bit of menace hidden in my tone.

"So everyone's okay," dad confirmed, "Good. Let's take this into the drawing room shall we? Your mum will make more hot chocolate and snacks."

Shooting one more glare in the boys' direction, I nodded to Lily and Alice before grabbing Cassie's hand and leading the way back to the drawing room. The boys followed behind apprehensively and stood still as we settled by the fire again. "It was only a joke," Gideon pouted down at us as I looked pointedly away from them. The other three glared openly at them before Alice sighed and nodded to them to take a seat.

Almost instinctively we took our usual positions in the semi-circle. Cassie, me, James, Sirius, Alice, Frank, Fabian, Lily, Gideon and Remus. "You're angry at us, aren't you?" James muttered as he tilted his head closer to me. I clenched my jaw and looked away from him only to hear him sigh.

"Okay, to get Bell to talk to us again," Sirius smirked across to me making me glare slightly, "Did we scare you?"

"Yeah actually," I replied stonily, "Only I wasn't scared for me."

"You were scared for the girls?" Fabian asked curiously.

"Mmm," I nodded as I pulled my knees to my chest again.

"So what were you talking about before we interrupted?" Remus asked curiously. I glanced at the girls.

"Nothing important," Cassie replied for me making me send her a small, thankful smile. "We were just about to start truth or dare." Both James and I stiffened in response to the title of the game before we shared an awkward glance.

"Or we could just go full out and play, spin the bottle," Alice suggested, the air between James and I once again got tenser. "Making sure that Remus and Bell don't get each other."

"Sounds good," Lily nodded happily, Cassie nodded too and it was agreed by the others. "What do you two think?"

"Sounds great," I smiled fakely as James nodded next to me, "I'll go get a bottle." Standing up hurriedly I slipped out of the room and let out the breath I was holding.

The kitchen was empty again, so I flicked the light on and headed to the fridge to find a bottle. There were a few butter beer bottles in there so I poured one of them into a glass and collected a few others so everyone could have one. "Are you okay with this?" James asked from the door as I rinsed the empty bottle out. Turning my head, I nodded slightly.

"Yeah," I smiled slightly, "Help me carry these in?"

"Sure," he sighed before moving to the bottles, "I'm sorry, by the way." I looked up at him in confusion, "If we scared you. You still seem tense."

"It's nothing," I shook my head, "You guys just have lousy timing."

He gave me a once over, "You were telling them about the feelings, weren't you?" I nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied quietly before looking up at him, "As cheesy as it sounds, I feel safer now you're here." He sent me a small smirk before grabbing some of the bottles and nodding for me to come back to the drawing room. I grabbed the rest and followed him.

"We ready?" Gideon asked as we came back in, shutting the door behind us and settling back into the semi-circle. We all shifted to make a full circle, Cassie sitting by Remus and the rest of us shifting around. "Who first?"

"I'll go," Alice grinned, "and then whoever it lands on goes next. Kiss has to be a real one, lasting at least 30 seconds."

"What about if it lands on the same gender?" Sirius asked cautiously.

"Same rules apply," I smirked at him, his eyes widened.

"Sounds good," Lily nodded in agreement. Alice took the bottle from my hands, laid it on the floor between us and spun it quickly. We all watched intently as it span around before finally slowing and landing on Remus, a giggle erupted from my throat at his shocked look.

The lads cheered as Alice leaned across and planted her lips on my brother's, we all laughed when it was over. Remus span and it landed on me making me scowl, "Hell no," we stated together making them all chuckle. He spun again and it landed on Cassie who blushed a bright red.

It was entertaining for a little while, Cassie got Sirius, Sirius got me and we both laughed when we pulled away. I got Fabian, Fabian got Lily, Lily got Gideon, and Gideon got Frank which caused much laughter. Frank got Alice, who blushed redder than the Prewitt twin's hair.

When they pulled away Alice span and it landed on me making me grin widely at the cheers from the lads. Getting to our knees we knelt in front of James and Sirius and I planted my lips on her making her giggle slightly... a small groan sounded from next to us and when we pulled away we shared a wink before settling down again, all of the boys, minus Remus had awed looks on their faces. "My turn?" I asked innocently making Cassie giggle loudly.

Reaching the bottle I flicked my wrist and spun it fast, I watched it was it slowed down and caught my bottom lip between my teeth when it finally stopped. It was bound to happen at some point during the game. Sirius wolf whistled and I turned to James whose hand was running through his hair.

He cleared his throat before turning to me and giving me a weak smile. "Kiss, kiss, kiss!" Frank and Sirius suddenly chanted making me jump slightly before I leant in, my lips locked on his simply before his hand came up and tangled in my hair again, he tilted his head slightly so I instinctively tilted mine the opposite way.

"Oh Merlin," I heard Lily giggle as my hand grabbed hold of James' shirt and I parted my lips for his tongue to dance with mine. Another wolf whistle erupted and I heard a high five exchange. "Time!"

I pulled away quickly and my eyes locked with James' again in a wide eyed stare, his hand stayed in my hair though, and mine stayed on his shirt. "Ehem!" Remus cleared his throat and I turned from James my cheeks heating up as I pulled from him fully, he shifted next to me and we looked back at the others, all of whom were grinning like idiots.

"So tell us again why you two aren't together?" Fabian teased making my face heat up even more.

"Drop it," Sirius warned with a laugh as he saw the looks on our faces. "Prongs?"

"I think it's time for a new game," Lily suggested suddenly making us all nod in agreement.

"So...?" James asked after clearing his throat.

"I've never..." Remus said with a grin making me nod enthusiastically.

"What's that?" Cassie asked curiously.

"Explain, I'll be back," I grinned before rushing out of the drawing room and getting the aerosol cans of whipped cream from the fridge. We had loads so I got one for each of us.

"Ready?" James asked as I sat down and handed a can each.

"I still don't get it," Cassie whined slightly.

"Learn by playing," I shrugged at her, "You say 'I've never' and then anything. You could have done it though. Like I've never had detention with Slughorn."

All six boys smirked at me, "If you've done it you squirt a load of cream in your mouth and eat it." I told them all, all of them did that, I copied and to my surprise so did Cassie. She shrugged when our gazes landed on her.

"He hates me," she told us simply, "I happened to call him the jolly green giant."

"Nice," Sirius smirked at her making her blush lightly.

"Okay," James grinned, "I've never fancied a teacher."

Lily, Alice and I swapped a look before eating some of the whipped cream and grinning at each other, once again Cassie copied. "Jacobs?" we asked together and we all giggled. It was no secret that Professor Jacobs was gorgeous. Tyler Jacobs, he was young, mid/late twenties with chocolate brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes. The little bit of stubble on his face gave him the rugged look but his smile made all the girls in the class practically melt. He wasn't like the other professors, he chose not to wear robes, instead he wore black jeans and button up shirts, his tie always loose and his shirt never tucked in.

Sirius groaned slightly and shook his head, "He's got all the female population in love with him this year," he sighed irritably, "At least he'll be gone by next year." I pouted at him and he grinned, "Anyway, I've never kissed one of my best friends." We all ate with a laugh.

"I've never kissed a Ravenclaw," Alice suddenly announced and Sirius was the only one to respond making us all turn to him.

"Amelia Bones," he grinned, his mouth full making me pull a face.

"Uhm I've never..." Frank started as he thought before grinning, "I've never fantasized about Bella."

My face turned bright red as James, Sirius, Fabian and Gideon all responded, Frank winked and followed suit making me put my face in my hands as Cassie giggled next to me. "I've never fantasized about a Marauder... Bella included." Fabian commented. Yet again, the five boys responded but this time they were joined by me, Alice, Cassie and surprisingly Lily.

"Who..?" Gideon grinned at us all making me glare at him. "We all know Bella's was James." I arched an eyebrow. "Right?" A smirk tugged at my lips and he smirked. "I've never fantasized about Sirius Black."

Once again Alice and Cassie responded and I followed suit making Sirius 'Whoop' with laughter. "I've never..." Remus started, "Been hit on by Gilderoy Lockhart." Alice and I swapped a look before we ate making the guys chuckle slightly.

"I've never had a sex dream," Cassie openly stated finally making us all turn to her before we swapped looks. No one was surprised when all of the boys responded, I fought the blush as I followed suit and Alice winked before copying making the boys' jaws drop.

"Following up," I smirked around, "I've never had a sex dream about anyone in this group." I ate straight away and out of the corner of my eye I noticed James doing the same thing, Gideon copying and surprisingly Frank and Alice too.

The clock behind us struck twelve o'clock and I turned to look at it, a smile on my face. "Happy Christmas guys." I commented and they all chimed the reply.

"So, sex dream huh?" Lily smirked as we headed down the stairs after getting dressed the next morning. Everyone was already crowded around the big table eating breakfast, spaces left between James and Sirius and Fabian and Remus for us. Like always I took the seat between my Marauder friends as Lily took the other one, still smirking at me.

"So what did you lot get up to last night?" mum asked as she placed plates in front of us.

"Just some games," I shrugged innocently as she pressed a kiss on top of my head, "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas to you too honey," she smiled at me as we all smiled innocently. Once she and dad left to get dressed we swapped looks and laughed.

"So, anyone want to fess up to another 'dream'?" Alice grinned mischievously making my gaze snap to the table. "Oooh Bella! Tell us, tell us, tell us."

"I'd rather not," I shrugged making her pout.

"At least tell us who it was about," Lily insisted making me shoot her a look. "Marauder or Prewitt?" I glared towards her making her grin widely. "So it was definitely a Marauder or a Prewitt."

"Drop it Lil," I warned her simply.

"Aww c'mon?" Cassie asked hopefully making me shoot her a shocked look.

"Not you too," I groaned, "My innocent little Cassie?"

"You guys are a bad influence," she shrugged making Alice nod in agreement.

"They converted me too," She commented simply.

"We're headed the Burrow for Christmas dinner," Gideon interrupted making me send him a thankful smile. "Molly wanted us all down there for Charlie's first Christmas."

"Awesome," James grinned, "Molly's cooking is the best."

"Mean's Bilius will be there," Lily grinned happily making me grin back.

"Only person missing is Wormtail," James sighed slightly.

"Nope, Molls said that she invited the Pettigrews too," Fabian cut in, "She's having a full blown party at her place."

"Great," I smirked, "Means we've got even numbers."

"What are you planning?" Remus asked curiously.

"I was thinking WizardHunt," I smirked at them all and Remus groaned slightly.

"What's WizardHunt?" Lily asked curiously, with her being Muggleborn it wasn't a surprise that she didn't know.

"It's like manhunt," I replied, "We split into two teams and both have a codeword. Each member of the team has only a letter to remember. If you get caught by a member of the other team they can do whatever they want to you to get your letter. The game ends when the winning team figures out what the other team's codeword was."

"That sounds totally barbaric," Lily complained making me grin widely.

"You'll have fun," I shrugged, "I was thinking Marauders v everyone else."

"That's not even though," Sirius complained, "There's only five of us and like seven of them."

"Then we get one of them," I shrugged, "Two if we get Arthur and Molly involved."

"You really think Molly will play?" Gideon asked curiously.

"If she gives little Charlie to Lucreta then I can convince her to be on my team," I shrugged, James frowned. "Don't pull faces, Molly would kill at the game; and you know it."

"I think to even it up and be real in teams we should do redheads v everyone else," Sirius grinned, "Meaning Bella would be on the redhead's team with her newly dyed hair."

"Newly dyed hair?" I frowned cautiously, "What did you do?" He cracked a grin as the others turned to me in shock making my eyes widen. My hand flew to my hair before I pulled some in front of my hair. Bubble gum pink.

"Nice hair," Sirius grinned at me, "Happy Christmas."

"Black," I growled ferociously as he shifted next to me, "Run."

"It was Prongs," he got up quickly and backed away as I stood slowly and arched an eyebrow. "Honest."

"Jamie," I smiled sweetly, turning to him, he paled which gave me the answer I needed. "Jamie..." I sighed as I shook my head he got up and was out the door to the back garden in a flash. I was on his heel just as quick.

"It looks good though," he shouted back to me as I chased him down the garden in the snow. I collided hard with him as he whipped around to face me and we both landed heavily in the snow. A smirk crossed my face and I started burying him in the snow as he struggled to get away. Finally, he grabbed a hold of my wrists and flipped us over ending up with me lying on my back scowling up at him as he smirked down at me.

The cold snow suddenly felt like it had faded away as he leant down and locked his lips softly with mine, drawing a small sigh from me. This kiss, unlike the others, was slow caring... and as I pulled my wrist from his grip I locked my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as my hands threaded in his hair.

A sharp wolf whistle rang out from the house causing James to pull away quickly as we both turned our heads to see the guys grinning widely at us both. Letting out a small sigh I dropped my head to the ground and looked up at James who smiled slightly down at me. "Parents alert!" Cassie suddenly called and we jumped to our feet, separating quickly as we walked back up to the house.


	8. Undefeated Quidditch Team

The rest of Christmas was surprisingly boring compared to our Christmas Eve and morning. The Redheads, including me, won the WizardHunt game and Molly pulled one out the bag for Christmas dinner once again.

It wasn't long until we were all huddled up in a compartment on our way back to Hogwarts for the next term of classes. "Snape's hanging round with Malfoy," Sirius commented as he joined us after a wander, my gaze snapped up to him and he smirked. "What do you think?"

"I think you should leave him alone," Lily suggested making us all turn to her, she pouted at me hopefully but I shrugged and got up, heading out of the compartment and following Sirius towards the Slytherins.

"Dad attached five second delays to my Dungbombs," I grinned proudly as we headed towards the compartment. "So what we're gonna do right, is you're gonna push me and make me stumble into their compartment and I'll drop a load of them!"

"Perfect," he smirked widely, "That one."

I nodded and shoved him slightly with a laugh making him catch on, as we passed their compartment he gave me a good shove and I stumbled into it, falling through the open door. "Oops," I giggled as he grinned down at me from the doorway, we were completely ignoring the Slytherins and I slipped some of the Dungbombs out of my pocket before letting him pull me out of the compartment and we walked away.

Just as we were about to go into our compartment down the train, a loud scream sounded and the Slytherins rushed into the hallway shouting, swearing and throwing curses towards us. Pushing Sirius into the compartment, I flipped them the birdie and slipping in after him with a broad grin. "Awesome!" Sirius yelled as we high fived and slumped back into our seats, James pouted at me and I arched an eyebrow.

"You went without me," he accused sadly, "I went the bathroom and you went to prank people without me?"

"Sorry babes," I pouted back and batted my eyelashes, "We'll prank without Sirius next time, I promise."

"Hey!" Sirius yelled in offence as James smirked at me.

"Sounds good," he nodded and I grinned before pressing a kiss to his cheek/side of his mouth.

"Welcome to the final match of the season!" Dedalus Diggle announced as we waited to go onto the pitch. "Gryffindor are only four points ahead of Slytherin in the running for the Cup. Let me introduce you to the Gryffindor team: Weasley, Prewitt, Prewitt, Longbottom, Potter, Black aaaaaannnndddd Lupin!" We flew out as one and the Gryffindor supporters cheered.

"And here come the Slytherins: Rosier, Black, Lestrange, Lestrange, Carrow, Carrow aaaaaannnndddd Malfoy!" The Slytherins cheered, but it was almost drowned out by the booing coming from the other three Hogwarts Houses. "The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!"

I darted out of the way as Frank caught the Quaffle and darted past me, sending a wink in my direction as he did. The game went like most Gryffindor/Slytherin ones... violently. As my gaze landed on the Snitch, I spun my broom around and took off after it, Malfoy close behind me.

We had the same brooms, so we were pretty evenly matched on that level but I let a small smirk cross my face still. It was time to show him who the better flyer was. The Snitch darted up, high into the sky and the two of us followed suit. I dodged Rosier, a Bludger, both Carrows and the barrel rolled under another Bludger before the Snitch quickly changed direction and darted down to the pitch again.

Spinning my broom around I followed it quickly, before Malfoy had even noticed the Snitch had changed direction. Down, down, down, down... we were only a few feet from the grassy pitch and Malfoy and I were neck and neck again. Sending him a small smirk, I noticed his eyes widen before he chickened out and pulled up... a split second later I did the same but I pulled up only enough so that I was skimming the pitch with my toes, my hand stretched out.

WHAM! I yelped in pain as a Bludger slammed into my arm, but I just gritted my teeth and swapped hands, my left hand now stretched out... my fingers curled around the little golden ball before I let out a victorious whoop and rolled off my broom with my fist in the air.

"Isabelle Lupin has caught the Snitch!" Dedalus announced, "Gryffindor win the match and the Quidditch Cup!"

Cheers erupted from the stands as I sat myself up and grinned widely as my team landed around me before they glomped me in a team hug. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" I yelped as my arm was squashed between me and Gideon.

"You did your arm in again, didn't you?" he chuckled as he helped me up off the floor. I smiled sheepishly and nodded. "You won the match single handed!"

"Aww, babes, that was just a bad attempt," I shook my head with an amused smirk, the team chuckled before we moved to the centre of the pitch to accept the Cup from Dumbledore once again. James and Sirius each grabbed a hold of me and hauled me on to their shoulders as the Cup was handed to me. I lifted it above my head and grinned widely as McGonagall took our picture for the trophy case.

"Gryffindor's own Undefeated, Quidditch Team!" she announced to the crowd causing an uproar of cheers from the rest of our house.


End file.
